Black History Month at St. Michael Catholic Secondary School

By: Hazel Sam and Kwasi Robinson

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Black History Month at St. Michael began with a virtual assembly facilitated by the DPCDSB’s Department of Equity and Indigenous Education. This virtual assembly provided several resources with students, emphasizing the importance of celebrating and changing narratives. We were also blessed with the opportunity to have Randell Adjei, a guest speaker, who spoke to students about identity, allyship, and defining one's story. Another guest presenter we had was Chef Marc Kusitor, who attended and made amazing food for the Diversity and Allies Club. He spoke about his story, inspiring our St. Michael youth, and uplifted specifically our Black Youth. We were also happy to have hosted our 5th annual taste of culture event that has continued to be a success for the past half a decade.

Taking it back to Thunder — throughout our school all Departments made mandatory showcases to commemorate Black History Month, and was perceived well by our student body. It is small actions like this, that bring all our pupils and staff together in a pursuit of justice. To end off the month, six students went to our Board’s Annual Black History Month ‘Black Futures Symposium’ which was co-facilitated by our very own, Kwasi Robinson. Students who attended were met with several hundreds of their peers, prestigious guest speakers, and our board’s first Black Principals, Dr. Fae Samuels and Dr. Gerald Callendar and listened to a keynote from Author, Antonio Michael Downing. To conclude, continue the hard fight in the pursuit of equity and inclusion, and be a reminder to our Black-identified students that you are present and the future to come.

Question of Influence

How did our Black history month activities impact our community and club?

Mrs. Lago-Byrne said, “Black History Month initiatives specifically this year, have been such a wonderful expression of Joy and Black excellence! This month allowed our DA students to be uplifted with so many opportunities that fostered connection and relationship building. We continue to plant the seeds of social justice and equity in February and beyond. It is always our hope and goal to address anti black racism step by step as a caring catholic community and club. We will continue to make space Black Youth and remind our young people that they come from a “legacy of excellence.”

Rachel Agyarko in grade 9 said, “it brought the significance of the history that many did not know about. It brought us closer together as a club.”

Hazel Sam in grade 10 said, “Throughout black history month we’ve had around 10 new members join and I'd say that's pretty impressive. That growth reflects the impact of our events, conversations, and initiatives. It proves that when we create spaces for education, empowerment, and celebration, people want to be part of it. Our club isn’t just growing in numbers; it’s growing in influence and unity."

Joseph Mensah Baah in grade 11 said, “Our activities prevented people from saying offensive things and they now have more respect for the school and Black youth. It’s helped promote the club and bring awareness to Black students who weren’t already part of the group. It brought the Black community in our school together. It also built a safe space for us to speak out about our experiences and incidents that happened to us as Black youth. It also helped people express their background and made them want to talk about it more while getting to know each other more as well."

Kwasi Robinson, Grade 11 says: “I was deeply impressed by the hard work and dedication by our Black-identified students during this month — I am always pleased to see unity and collaboration amongst peers, especially pertaining to Black Success, Black Excellence and Black Innovation. In my role, my goal is to always champion the importance of honouring one’s Blackness. I feel like this Month, unlike previous years, allowed our Black Students to be unapologetically Black amongst their peers. Overall, the work is ongoing and I sincerely hope that the highlighting and spotlight done during Black History Month continues throughout the remainder of the semester and beyond. I look forward to the continued growth within the St. Michael Community."

Ms. Benefor said, “Our Black History Month activities made a meaningful impact on our school community and our club by creating spaces for collaboration, allyship, and learning that highlighted Black excellence. I believe the students in our club were able to celebrate the unique beauty of being Black, and — most importantly — witness Black excellence through speakers like Randell and Chief Mark. In addition, students in our DA club led initiatives such as Trailblazer Tuesday and participated in various retreats and trips that uplifted Black youth at St. Mike’s. Overall, I hope this month has opened the eyes of everyone in the St. Michael’s community; to understand that Black history does not end when February does; it is an ongoing opportunity to learn from and support the members of our growing community.”